What to Wear for Your Age

It's more than just confidence these days. Figuring out chic ensembles at any age has become an art form.

There is no fashion for the old," Coco Chanel once declared at what was presumably a youthful stage of her 87-year life. The mademoiselle's fashion fortune-telling was usually unerring. She brought black from funerals to the cocktail hour, embraced men's underwear (i.e., jersey), and insisted on mounds of costume jewelry. But regarding age, well, let's just say she never had the pleasure of meeting Madonna, who, now 50, exhibits no plans to hide in the amorphous folds of a muumuu.

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It's not just the Material Girl who has chosen to ignore the once-stifling stylistic throes of middle age. At 45, Demi Moore looks no different today than she did at 25. Actually, with buns of steel, a line-free face, and the boyish hubby, she looks even better. Kim Cattrall, now 52, was by far the hottest kitten in the Sex and the City litter. And what to make of Susan Sarandon's impressive décolleté? No one, it appears, has told her that such a display seems incongruous for her 61 years. Or, more to the point, no one cares. Least of all her.

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"Age means something entirely different than it did 10, 20, or even 30 years ago," says Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director at Neiman Marcus. "Today the barriers are broken down. I know an 18-year-old who wears jeans, a heeled boot, a chic cropped jacket, and big bangles, and I've also just described my mother, who I'm sure has seen 60."

Still, this is not about 60 being the new 16. "At every age, what makes you have a great sense of style is the ability to listen to your own instincts and to choose what makes you feel comfortable and confident," says 74-year-old Giorgio Armani. "Being elegant is not a matter of age but of attitude." Notably, Armani still can (and does) work a small white Speedo and tanned torso during his sunny August sojourns to the island of Pantelleria. But there are two critical components to his swimwear choice: He doesn't feel old mentally, nor does he look old physically.

"So much depends on your confidence and your body," observes veteran Bazaar fashion stylist Brana Wolf. "If you have a certain shape, that may be a challenge for you even at age 25."

"At each stage of your life, you should show the best and hide the worst," says designer Veronica Etro, who, at 34, with one child and another on the way, has given up on the stretch-jersey dresses of her 20s but still wears miniskirts to show off her legs and now adds lots of jewelry to the mix.

But genetic superwomen appear to be popping up in greater numbers today (although that's probably less connected to genes than to GNC and the gym), and one can still have a killer body after 60. No one condemned Helen Mirren, 63, for looking fabulous frolicking in the Mediterranean Sea in her red bikini this past summer. At 61, designer Diane von Furstenberg always looks youthful yet appropriate in shapely to-the-knee dresses set off by taut arms and sexy heels. Her secret? "After a certain age, you should not wear too short or too girly. I wear what feels comfortable and what maintains an agile silhouette."

"It's about knowing your body, not your age," insists Downing. "The legs are the last to go, so if you've got a great pair, then by all means wear a hem above the knee. If you've got bad ankles, enter the shoe bootie to cover them up."

Wolf points to the arms as a midlife melting zone. Unless you've got Madonna's biceps, "it's just more attractive to have them covered up," she says. A fitted cardigan or a modern-cut jacket will swiftly resolve the issue.

Downing is correct when he observes that "in today's culture, everyone wants to be 25 even if they are 16 or 65." The taboo of shopping at the same place as your mother, or even looking remotely like her, has become irrelevant. Just think of Lindsay and Dina Lohan.

"Fashion is now more about your personality," observes Costume National designer Ennio Capasa. "If you're a businesswoman, socialite, or rocker, it doesn't matter if you're 30 or 60, you can wear the same things."

At the end of the day, looking both chic and age appropriate comes down to personal style. Take fashion publicist Karla Otto, for example. The German ex-model floats around fashion shows in thigh-grazing Marni dresses and vertiginous platform heels with her long hair undone. It astounds people to learn that she's in her early 50s.

"I never consider my age when I dress," she says. "I still wear miniskirts, and I don't wear makeup, which I think makes you look older." Recently, she has swapped her usual edgy day uniform of narrow pants for short dresses, "but," she insists, "it has nothing to do with age; it's just a fast way of dressing now."

Pointedly, there are things Otto avoids, like the 1950s full-skirted girlish look, which flatters neither her personality nor her body. "It makes me look 10 years older for sure," she says.

"We had a girly period for too long," says Wolf. "All of that ruffled stuff was hard for a lot of older women."

So too are some of fall's weirder supertrends, such as wicked platform heels, extreme shoulders, and voluminous dhoti pants. "Forget about the poo-poo pant," advises Wolf. "It's a young thing. I'm not even sure a 30-year-old looks good in it.

"For a woman of a certain age, it can be hard to find things out there," she continues. "You want to be chic and modern, but you don't want to look trendy." Some labels that bridge the age gap are those that focus on modern cuts and interesting fabrics, like simple silk tanks at Lanvin. "A lacquered linen jacket from Marni with an updated shape takes it away from being a fuddy-duddy suit jacket," she adds.

In general, extreme trends that appear out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly are caprices that befit only the youthful. "When you're young, that's fine," explains Etro. "You mix, you layer, and you experiment to find your own path." But then it's time to move on.

Which is what Anita Borzyszkowska, Gap's vice president of public relations in Europe, has done. "When I was young, I'd wear mad pieces from John Galliano head to toe," the 40-year-old recalls. "Now I never do that total look. At this stage of my life, ease of dressing is very important to me." Borzyszkowska pairs Gap basics--slouchy cotton trousers, a white shirt, a peacoat, or a simple cashmere T-shirt, for example--with theatrical designer pieces that pack a punch, such as a Balenciaga tweed jacket, a Chanel handbag, or a beat-up Azzedine Alaïa shoe. "It's the simple, neutral canvas of the classics that allows you to build your look," she says. "Those basics work for all women. Look at Lauren Hutton and Katharine Hepburn. They are such icons, and their clothes remain timeless."

"What I think works for everyone is shirts," elaborates Etro. "They are a basic that goes from 16 to 70. And a caftan in the summertime can be worn by women of all ages."

The same universal appeal applies to colors and prints, which can soften an older woman's features and give them a lift. What makes a look different is how women accessorize it. A sky-high heel gives a totally different effect to a dress than a suede pump.

Some recent shifts in fashion also transcend age, like the modern glamour on display at Lanvin and Balenciaga for fall. "That's how all women want to look," says Downing, citing the great fits and new cuts. "The slit [in the dresses] at Balenciaga was just theatrics. The reality is that it will be lower for some women and even higher for others."

But not necessarily because of their number of birthdays. "It's not our job to tell a 64-year-old woman who looks fabulous in a pair of platforms that she can't wear them because she's too old," says Downing. "If you look great, you should be able to celebrate and wear the things you love.